Carpet and upholstery cleaning systems are generally well known in the prior art. Typically, these cleaning systems comprise a fluid pump which, when activated, directs a source of water or a solution consisting of a mixture of water and a cleaning agent through a heater and into a hand-held cleaning wand for application to a carpet or piece of upholstered furniture. The wand includes a trigger mechanism that controls the flow of water or solution from an exhaust port formed thereon. The wand also defines a vacuum suction inlet port which draws residual waste water back to a waste water recovery tank which is maintained under a vacuum by one or more motor driven vacuum pumps fluidly coupled thereto. In this respect, certain prior art cleaning systems include a single vacuum pump, with others including a pair of vacuum pumps connected to each other in series so as to provide a greater level of residual waste water suction from the wand.
In prior art cleaning systems, the waste water recovery tank, water/solution tank, fluid pump, heater and vacuum pump(s) are typically maintained within a housing. The housing includes a pair of couplings extending therefrom for facilitating the fluid connection of the wand to the waste water recovery tank and to the water/solution tank (typically via the fluid pump and heater). The housing is formed to include an interior cavity or recess which accommodates the various components of the cleaning system, including the fluid pump, heater, and vacuum pump(s). In the prior art cleaning systems, these components are secured within the housing, and in particular the cavity or recess defined therein, through the use of combinations of mounting brackets and fasteners such as nuts and bolts.
The use of mounting brackets and fasteners to maintain the various cleaning system components within the housing presents certain disadvantages which are overcome by the carpet and upholstery cleaner/extractor unit of the present invention. These deficiencies include the relatively high cost of manufacturing the prior art cleaning systems in view of the time and labor needed to mount the various components within the housing through the use of the mounting brackets and fasteners. Additionally, it is often desirable to make field repairs or modifications to the cleaning system, with such modifications including increasing the suction capacity of the wand by adding an additional vacuum pump thereto which is fluidly connected in series to the existing vacuum pump. In the prior art cleaning systems, field repairs or modifications are impractical due to the complexity of interchanging the components thereof, as well as the housing not being designed to accommodate an additional vacuum pump.
As previously indicated, the present invention overcomes these and other deficiencies of prior art cleaning systems by providing a carpet and upholstery cleaner/extractor unit wherein various components thereof, including a fluid pump, heater, and vacuum pump(s) are maintained within a housing without the use of mounting brackets or fasteners such as nuts and bolts. This design of the housing allows for the field repair of the unit since the components thereof may be quickly and easily interchanged without requiring the use of tools. The housing is further configured to accommodate an additional vacuum pump which may be retrofitted to the unit in a quick and easy manner as well, thus allowing for the field modification of the unit for purposes of increasing the suction capacity thereof.